GRANTING RELIEF

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23012, 13 April 1938, Page 16

GRANTING RELIEF

FUTURE AUTHORITY DR. M. H. WATT'S VIEWS TRANSFER NOT DESIRABLE I [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Tuesday The opinion that the transfer from hospital boards to some other authority ot the function of granting relief was not desirable was expressed by the Director-General of Health, Dr. M. H. Watt, in giving evidence to-day before the special Parliamentary Committee. Dr. Watt said that the Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. Nash, at the committee's hearing on April 8 had asked the Health Department to go into the question of the desirability and practicability of transferring charitable aid administration from hospital boards to some other authorities. After outlining the activities of hospital boards in respect to relief and charitable aid, Dr. Watt said: "It is beyond question that, even under the comprehensive and reasonably generous scale of social security benefits proposed, the need for a Governmental agency to supplement these benefits in special cases will remain. Hospital boards would normally continue to undertake that function. The question of transferring that function to some other Governmental agency raises the' question, firstly, of whether that function should be one for central government, or 0110 for local government." Need lor 00-ordination The point was discussed in detail and Dr. Watt continued: "It appears that the granting of relief should remain a local government function. Wilh local administrative responsibility should go a definite measure of financial responsibility, as is the case at present with the administration by hospital boards." Dr. Watt said it was necessary to maintain the closest possible co-ordina-tion between the administration of a hospital and allied treatment services, on the one hand, and the administration of indoor and outdoor relief on the other. With the provision of health services and superannuation, and tho social security beneiits at present proposed, the volume of cases requiring supplementary relief must decrease considerably. For these reasons this opinion was formed that the transfer from hospital boards to some other authority of the function of granting relief was not desirable. Training "Nursing Aids"

"In the Department's view an effective home nursing and domestic help service, as proposed, cannot adequately be met with the existing nursing personnel," added Dr. Watt. "There is, firstly, the fact that at present tho number of trained, nurses is not sufficient to meet requirements, and thin deficiency will take some time to overcome. Secondly, there is a widelyaccepted view that, for the type of service envisaged in the proposal, fullytrained general nurses are not necessary. . "It is, therefore, felt that the most practical course to pursue is to provide a special type of trained personnel. The Department of Health, in association with the Nurses and Midwifes' Registration Board, and the Registered Nurses' Association, has been considering proposals for the establishment of a scheme for training 'nursing aids,' whose services would be utilised in affording domiciliary nursing care and home help." A two-year training course had been drafted, it was explained, and the first batch of qualified nursing aids under the proposed scheme would not be available until about the end of 1940.